Cascading Falls
Cascading Falls is a waterfall in South Coast, Iceland — about 156 km from Reykjavik and reached by a hike from the nearest pull-off (bring weather-appropriate footwear). Shoot it year-round, though winter wind, ice, and short daylight rework the shot list, then use the GPS coordinates, parking notes, and nearby waypoints below to fold this stop into a longer photography route.
Overview
A waterfall on the Gönguleið um Fimmvörðuháls trail
As a photography stop, Cascading Falls is a waterfall in South Coast, roughly 156 km from Reykjavik, reached by a hike from the nearest pull-off (bring weather-appropriate footwear). Plan the shoot year-round, though winter wind, ice, and short daylight rework the shot list. The downloadable Waterfall map pins exact GPS coordinates, parking, and nearby waypoints so you can fold it into a wider route instead of hunting for the pull-off on arrival.
Cascading Falls is one waypoint of many — you can load all 43 waterfall locations before you leave signal.
Notes on this location
Compiled from published sources rather than a visit. Sources are listed below.
A cascade on the Skógá about 2 km upriver from Skógafoss, roughly 113 m from the next catalogued fall. The name is this catalog’s label, not an Icelandic place name.
- Where
- About 2 km up the Skógá from Skógafoss on the Fimmvörðuháls trail
- The name
- A descriptive label used by this catalog, not a name on any map or signpost
- Its neighbour
- About 113 m from the fall this catalog lists as High Peaks Waterfall — close enough that the two are effectively one stop
- The river
- The Skógá runs as a continuous sequence of falls above Skógafoss; the touring association gives no count
- Counts elsewhere
- Other pages put the number at 25 or 26. The Icelandic Touring Association page gives no figure, so neither does this
- Season
- The trail is on average open 25 June to 15 September
Two catalogued falls 113 m apart is one walk, not two, and worth planning as a single stop rather than budgeting time for each. That the river is a continuous sequence rather than a set of named landmarks is the useful mental model here: pick by light and water, not by name.
Light & aurora at this spot
Calculated from this location’s coordinates (63.549, -19.495). Iceland stays on UTC year-round, so these are local times.
- Summer
- June: sun up 03:01–23:36 (20.6 h). Evening golden hour 21:49–23:36, light coming from the NNW.
- Winter
- December: only 4.5 h of daylight (10:57–15:29), but the sun never climbs above 3.2° — the entire day is golden hour. Sunrise bears SSE, sunset SSW.
- Aurora
- Aurora-grade darkness Sep–Mar, peaking at 12.8 h a night in December. Not possible Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug — the sky never gets dark enough.
Bar height is daylight hours. Months marked • have enough astronomical darkness for aurora; the rest do not.
Questions & answers
Cascading Falls is a waterfall in South Coast, Iceland, approximately 156 km from Reykjavik. Exact GPS coordinates are included in the downloadable Waterfall map.
The recommended season for Cascading Falls is All. For light, plan around blue hour and the first hour after sunrise; Iceland's long shoulder-season twilight extends usable conditions on either side.
Hike access. Bring weather-appropriate footwear and check conditions before setting out. The downloadable GPS map puts the waypoint on your phone; your own app routes you to it from wherever you are.
Yes — Cascading Falls can be visited year-round, though winter conditions may require a 4x4 or storm-tolerant plans.